The Solution
by yllimilly
Summary: YGOFFC S8R1. What-if. Life and death aren't what they seem for the two men closest to Anzu's heart, and the girl is willing to take drastic measures to salvage their existence. Spiritshipping YuugixAnzuxAtem


Title: **The Solution**  
y/a/yy  
Genre: General, as I have no idea how to classify this.  
Rating: T, with mentions of adult topics

**A/N** This oneshot was written after too many hand cramps and too little shuteye for the first round of the YGO Fanfiction Contest, whose mastermind blessed us with a pairing that is very canon, very complex and that could use more 'screen time' in the fandom. It's Spiritshippping - AtemxAnzuxYuugi. Reviews, comments, concrit are all very much appreciated, especially from fellow contestants - don't be shy!  
Milly

.y.

Dark.

No - void.

Void is the word that best describes the... 'place' she ended up in.

Abruptly, the girl comes into consciousness again, and through her senses, the place is void no more. She sees, she hears, she smells, but she is perfectly confused.

Puzzled, her first reflex is to take a good look at her bare arms, as if to ascertain their existence - or hers - completely ignorant of where she is, why she has made it 'here' and what she was doing the moment before. She has no clear grasp of time, nor has she any clear memory of what just happened.

She tries hard to recollect, like one does when torn away from a dream, distressed and unsure what is real and what isn't anymore, and what comes to her mind are shreds of memories that can't easily be put back together.

The girl's eyes finally get accustomed to the darkness and she is able to distinguish wiry shades of purple all around her, strings of clouds sensually clinging to her bare arms and legs. She is not naked, but draped in white fabric; her wrists are adorned with gold jewelry that bring out specks of an unknown source of light.

The symbol engraved on the bracelet looks like a stylized eye, and it makes her suddenly realize that she is neither dreaming, nor awake; she is in another, altered state of consciousness. Her mind has temporarily left her body for another vessel.

She has come to visit Atem and Yuugi. She is their one and only guest.

The skin of her fingertips isn't as worn out as she knows it to be from her part time job; her hair isn't the least dry, and the fabric of her robe reminds her of the white cotton sheets she's been resting on until a few minutes ago. Her real, overworked body is somewhere in the real world, in a near comatose state that most mortals would mistake for sleeping, oblivious to the fact that Anzu's soul is headed for the Soul Realm nested in Yuugi's mind, or in the puzzle - she isn't sure which.

Yuugi refers to it as a 'voyage'. She has never dared ask about the mechanics of the thing. She just knows Atem makes his magic work from inside the Puzzle, and at some point, she lands in the space that he and Yuugi call their dwelling.

Slowly, this strange place becomes familiar to her again, as she has been here many times before, and her heart jumps at the familiar chime in her the voice of her friend.

"Anzu!"

She flips around to see her friend smiling at her, standing on the threshold of an imposing stone entrance leading to a sunny and luxuriant courtyard. She runs to him and into his welcoming embrace, entering the room that has been her destination all along, and utters his name in relief.

"Yuugi!"

She holds him dear in her arms just to convince herself that he's real, until a rich, regal voice forces her to acknowledge the mastermind of the intricate architecture that has replaced the once fuzzy mist she was wrapped in seconds ago.

"Welcome." Atem stands not far from Yuugi, draped in white and adorned with golden jewelry of sober design like that of the two others, bowing slightly to Anzu, never once removing his fiery red eyes from the woman.

She releases Yuugi to properly greet her host, grateful for the warm welcome and for the otherworldly garden that he has prepared for her. In it, she can see beautiful, tall stone structures whose purpose she can't pinpoint, and tall trees pregnant with colorful fruit and birdsong and greenery everywhere, and the sun is bright but not overwhelming as she imagines it is in the desert of Egypt. The air is warm enough and the breeze is infrequent enough to make her feel like she really is outdoors.

As exciting as this strange environment may be, it is nowhere near as enjoyable as the presence of her closest friend. Anzu's blue eyes quickly drift back to Yuugi. His hair, bright with highlights of dark gold and burgundy, is radiant and his violent eyes are shiny; his cheeks a wholesome, blood rush induced pink, his flesh and skin, unaltered by the necessary evils of modern medicine.

While the girl rejoices in seeing him so healthy, her smile half falters when another piece of her memory comes back to her. The real miracle she is witnessing right now isn't the docile pack of magical lions waiting for their masters to return to them, but the sight of Yuugi looking youthful as ever.

She now remembers why she came here in the first place. And she is now also aware of where she was before traveling to the soul room. She brings a hand to her mouth, as if ashamed by her lack of enthusiasm. Because she also knows _they_ have been _knowing_ since her first step into their shared 'soul dwelling'.

Yuugi gives her a meaningful, but empathic look.

"You remember already," Atem states simply; there is a hint of understanding, but also of pride, lurking in his voice.

"Yes... I do."

It's as if she muttered the three words to herself, looking down at the sandy earth of the narrow path beneath her leather clad feet. She is amazed at her improving memory, since the fate of her treasured friends rely on it, but finds herself wishing she hadn't remembered what awaits her outside the artificial world sustained by the dark magic of the Pharaoh when she leaves this enchanted - and devilishly enchanting - garden of sorts.

"You are getting better every time," cheers Yuugi.

It's always been difficult keeping track of events in and out of the Shadow World when Anzu visits Atem and Yuugi. She can remember her first voyage now that she's in the dwelling, but can't when she is in the real world - _outside_, as the two young and not so young men commonly refer to it.

And the few voyages that ensued; they feel like nothing more than a dream. It took quite a lot of willpower on her part, aided by the urgency of the current outside situation, to finally convince herself that this dimension is also 'real', and to remember accurately what happened in it when she goes back to 'the real world'.

"Yes... I am." She can't offer them a completely sincere smile. All of them remain respectfully silent for a little while, and she lays her sad eyes on her young friend once more. If, outside, he weren't in his current state, Anzu wouldn't be devoting so much energy into remembrance, and could simply allow herself to enjoy the time she spends with the two most important people in her life.

"You look great, Yuugi. You really do..." She bites her lip to prevent her eyelids from spilling.

"Don't be sad, Anzu, I _am _doing great. Don't you see?"

"But this isn't..."

_Real..._

The taller man's eyes narrow imperceptibly, and Anzu regrets her aborted sentence even more.

It has taken him millenia to reach this mastery of Shadow Magic, to earn the skill of bending it to its will in order to craft this complex world in which he reigns as Overlord and Mastermind. And this world, this universe, that has prevented him from losing sanity while he was trapped in the material boundaries of the Millenium Puzzle, this complex and ever shifting and perfectly imperfect world is now the one he knows best; more, even that of his ancestors.

To bring up that fact before the Pharaoh is the most harmful act one can do.

Anzu knows she's right in thinking this, as the columns that hold the suspended gardens Yuugi cherishes so tremble ever so slightly, sending chills through the young woman's spine.

Yuugi's smile isn't bothered by the seismic attack.

"Let's eat."

He holds out his right hand to Anzu, beckoning her to come along. Atem, slightly appeased, holds out his left hand to Anzu before his aibou can grab it. Together, they walk through the fine sand towards a shaded square of tall grass underneath the structure that could've easily crumbled seconds ago, if Yuugi's soothing aura hadn't successfully lulled the monarch's heart to peace.

.y.

The trio lazily lies about in the shade by the pillars of the suspended gardens, quenching their thirst from clay jugs and leisurely partaking in the feast spread in tiny dishes between the three of them. Anzu is overjoyed at such luxury; cup noodles do not compare to the fragrant oils and herbs she bets don't exist even in the remotest European pantries, anatomically impossible fruit and unnaturally tender pieces of meat. Yuugi is appreciative, happily chewing niblets of food from this and that plate, but his selective hand, and his avoidance of certain items show that his standards have gone incredibly high already by living alongside Atem for so long. The culinary genius, well, seems merely satisfied to witness the two mortals enjoy themselves, and hasn't touched anything since the routinely welcoming meal began.

Anzu plucks a grape from a vine lazily hanging above them and maliciously throws it in Yuugi's direction. He playfully protests, preparing a melon powered counterattack.

Atem watches them throwing fruit and various food items at each other and eventually battling for the whole vine, with Yuugi finally ripping it off and smearing it in Anzu's hair, both of them laughing their hearts' content after they grew tired of fighting.

The whole scene makes the Pharaoh smile. He sits up and pats on the head a servant lion who brought them bright orange bananas that she knows exist only here and that taste of pure, delicious honey.

The simple treat sates Anzu, who finds herself thinking of the reason of her visit, falling silent and serious again.

"I'm not sure I'm able to do this."

The two dissimilar 'twins' exchange a quick look.

"And you are not obligated to, Anzu. You are the one taking this upon yourself." He brings a sweet blue cranberry to his mouth, and chews methodically, visibly unable to let himself be uplifted by the sensory stimuli.

"How could I not, Atem?"

How could he not see what they both meant to her? That this was the least she could do to repay them when they've been around for her, and that she loves them more than anything else in the world - in all possible worlds - and that a life without them means next to nothing?

"I know I might be bold in speaking on behalf of Atem, but I am confident that he will agree with me." He breathes in quietly, not looking away from his female friend. "Anzu, we have both lived full lives. We've had plenty of time to accept that this is the end." The boy says this with confidence.

"But it's not! I understand Atem has experienced thousands of years of... existence, though I still think he hasn't had the privilege yet to live the simple, free life we were luckily given at birth... But you, Yuugi, can definitely **_not _**say that you have had a full life." Her lips trembled with anger as the last word fleed them. "It's just not fair!" She almost yells, not bothering to keep her frustration at bay.

"Anzu..." Yuugi leans toward her to hug her, but she pushes him away. Not knowing how to react, he looks at Atem, full of intent, who steps in, albeit only for those four words. He considers emotions should be untangled only by those who live them.

"You're tired, Anzu."

"Yes, it's normal," Yuugi chimes in, hopeful, "especially after a voyage like this. It puts a strain on the mind and body. That's why Atem always has a bed ready for you when you come-"

"Strains... the body?" She replies, not to Yuugi, but to Atem. "You are telling me, now, that a voyage strains the body? And yet you let Yuugi spend most of his time here?" Her teeth are clenched tightly, her mouth deformed into a grimace. The monarch's expression doesn't change, but she doesn't have time to decipher it, as Yuugi immediately comes to his defense.

"It's not like I could do anything 'outside', Anzu! Either way, I'm trapped! And I'd rather be trapped here willingly by Atem's side, where I can not only control my body, but also the world around me! And that's why we've been able to spend so much time together lately! Don't think a few voyages have been holding me back from healing, Anzu."

She stays silent, partly because she knows he's right, and partly because she is focusing on keeping the knot in her throat from dissolving into tears.

"You know it was bound to happen. It's written in my genes. There's nothing modern science can do about it."

He rests his hand on hers, balled to the point it looks like it's going to burst. He goes forth, with more tact than might be necessary: "if you're not ready to say goodbye, we're willing to move in with you, and I know you're going to be able to solve the puzzle like I did."

"You worked on it for weeks, if not months..."

"But you have the best teachers, Anzu!"

"I don't know if I'll be able to remember."

"I trust Ra that you will." Yuugi gave her a bright smile and Anzu let herself drown in his embrace, gaining her usual confidence back.

.y.

"The Puzzle is tricky because it's more than just a mind twister. It's also a finger twister." Violet eyes glitter in excitement. "You see, you have to hold certain pieces in ways," he gestures along, "that make you discover finger muscles you never knew you had!"

Anzu smiles briefly, but becomes serious again. Yuugi really is a good teacher, enthusiastic about sharing knowledge and about games, but the learning part needs to be done by her after all. She is determined to focus on Atem's hands as he demonstrates Yuugi's instructions on a wooden replica of the Millenium Puzzle.

"So the quickest way, but also the way that seems least likely to anyone, is to start from the apex _down_..."

The demonstration lasts a good hour and her failed attempts take another. As time passes, Anzu becomes more and more nervous, since a minute spent in the 'Shadow Dwelling' equals a minute in the real world. With little help from Atem, who seems to observe the scene from afar, lots of hints on Yuugi's part and a lot more silly mnemonics supplied by him, Anzu eventually succeeds in sealing the interlocking pieces into the shape of a pyramid. Jubilant, and feeling free of the boulder that was crushing her mental shoulders, the young woman jumps to her feet, exuding a newfound energy.

"Let's visit your rooms one last time."

Atem gives Yuugi a meaningful look, and the boy understands that he won't be joining them. He leads her to a moss covered trunk at the other end of the garden. On it hangs a golden orb that fits in a man's palm. Yuugi grabs it, twists it and a good slice of the trunk flings open like a door.

Inside the meter wide trunk there is a wide room drenched in artificial light. Anzu has gotten used to the logical fallacies of the worlds created by Yuugi and Atem, and she isn't surprised at the unusual sight. She is expecting to see the usual array of toys and childhood keepsakes that she knows dwell in the boy's soul room, but none of them are in sight.

"Wait, what are these?"

"Boxes," he says as if thought cardboard boxes piled up in a room located in the trunk of a tropical tree were the most natural thing in the world.

"I mean, what are these for? You're not... Are you taking these with you?"

"Not literally. When I learned the _news_, from outside, I just locked myself into my soul room and played with my toys for days. I sort of reverted into childhood. It took Atem everything he could to make me snap back into it without using magic or violence on me. I left my room and came back to him, eventually."

He knocks on one of the boxes.

"He proposed that I packed my toys. At first..." He swallows. "At first, it was a way for me to deal with..."

"Death," Anzu gently supplied.

"Well, yes. Complete death, if you will. When you volunteered to host us for a while, I wanted to unpack them. I had time to kill, and I could play with them for a while, even though they're not that interesting, but because it the was the last chance I'd have to enjoy them. But Atem told me that it was like a rite of passage. To help me leave childhood behind, since I was manifestly going to become an adult eventually, even without my physical body."

She nods her head, enjoining him to carry on.

"He said it's these sorts of simple rituals that helped him survive, keep track of the time he had lost access to while he was trapped in the puzzle. He told himself, 'life goes on even beyond life'. Funny, I know."

He turns the lights off, produces a golden key from the palm of his hand and locked the door to his soul room behind him. He then tosses the key deep into the forest, staring at the place it has likely landed for a while. Anzu stays by his side, mute, generously giving him the time to recollect his thoughts.

"I'm not taking these along. Come on, you wanted to see Atem's room, too, right?"

As briskly as he spoke, he strolls toward the place where they sat to share their meal, Anzu in his trail.

.y.

Atem and Anzu stand side by side, looking at the large, unique piece of furniture reigning over the rest of the room. It is covered in satin sheets that are a shade of burnt orange not unlike dunes that are prey to the setting sun. The bed looks like it was once used, and never made.

"This isn't your room, Atem." She can't help but blush at the sight of the bed. "This is where we-"

He cuts her off. "My room is not something anyone should see."

Anzu lowered her eyes. "I understand." She has a secret theory that Atem isn't entirely human anymore, that his soul has merged with the Shadow magic he uses. His detachment towards her feminity, towards human emotion, conflict, towards beauty even, or toward sensory gratification of any kind, tell her this. His human interactions have become forced because he doesn't understand how they work, their purpose. She knows it from the time she once spent with him in this very room, where he loved her beautifully, but without emotion, and her attraction to him faded, replaced by profound compassion and unfailing devotion.

The same devotion he himself reserves for those whom he thinks deserve his gratitude.

Atem closes the door behind him, much like Yuugi did, and leads her to the arch that serves both as entrance ans exit to the dwelling.

His own room's architecture must simply be beyond the reach of human cognition, she thinks.

Alien.

Inorganic.

She doesn't know.

It might also be infinitely dark or sad. The functional room, all but a safe where the Pharaoh sealed away the overwhelming emotions that were the end of Bakura and Malik.

Or it might simply be full of the 'void' she goes through during the voyage.

_What a dreadful thought. _

They have reached the end of the sandy path, where Yuugi waits for them patiently. Atem takes place next to the magical incarnation of his vessel, and she steps into the threshold of the door, facing them both.

"Thank you for the warm welcome."

The Pharaoh gratefully acknowledges her statement. "We are entrusting our fate in your hands." But his scarlet eyes say something different. They are tired.

Tired of sustaining this replica of a world he will never get to fully enjoy. She understands the look in his eyes, and she knows she is being selfish for not wanting to let them go, but she isn't changing her mind. She will break and reassemble the Puzzle, and she will become their host, and the three of them will share her body, while they will actually be spending most of their time inside the new dwelling she is to prepare for them once she gets a hold of the Millenium Item.

Truth is, she needs them to go on. She needs their presence in order to go on. She'll crumble along with this magical world of theirs if they choose to follow nature's course. She takes a deep breath before replying.

"Thank _you_."

_For wanting to stick around for me... for a while at least. _

They have agreed that there would be no goodbyes; that they would assuredly meet again, and that their next reunion was to occur in a very near future. She doesn't need to take a good look at Atem and Yuugi's face, because she will see them soon, and she doesn't need to hug them, either. Because it would make her cry for sure.

She doesn't want to doubt her success. She might jinx it if she does. And so she turns her back to the two dissimilar twins, and steps into the darkness...

And into the void...

Until she falls out of consciousness.

.y.

"She's moving."

A whisper.

"She might just be stirring in her sleep."

"You were the one who said she might not be asleep!"

"You said that for the boy, too. It's so sad. So young."

"He's due tomorrow."

"I know that."

Anzu opened her eyes, fully awaken by the hissing voices of the nurses behind her, who made it hard for her to focus properly and keep track of the dream she'd just had. She sat up groggily, stretching her back. It was understandably sore; she had been spending most of the day (and the night, she now realized) sitting on a hard plastic chair, bent over Yuugi's hospital bed, all the while wearing her poorly tailored work uniform. Licking her dry lips, she turned around the two ladies. "I'm so sorry... What time is it?"

"It is two thirty in the morning, dear. We couldn't get a hold of your parents, and since you've been spending so much time here, we thought the administration wouldn't mind if you stayed overnight with your boyfriend."

The word bothered her a little. Yuugi was not a _boyfriend. _He was infinitely more than that to her. A true friend. They were linked by their souls.

And if she wanted that link to stay alive, she had to get rid of the womanly distractions behind her, to recall the details of her trip to Yuugi's Shadow Room.

"I hope I didn't cause you trouble. I really appreciate. I'll get going soon." She then pretended to rearrange the sheets in the spot she'd been resting on in a neater fashion, just to break away from the curious ladies gaze.

_White sheets._

One of the nurses bid her goodbye, relieved that the little sleepy lady was okay, and ran off to her other patients.

"Could I have a glass of water?"

"Of course, dear."

The muffled steps of the nurse were masked by the respiratory machine of the other patient Yuugi shared his room with.

Anzu turned to her best friend whose body rested unconscious in his bed, every orifice adorned with translucent tubes. She firmly held his cool, bony fingers into her sweaty hand, swallowing hard at the sight of his pallid skin.

_Fingers._

She caressed his bald head with her other hand before leaning over and kissing his forehead. His cheekbones appeared high and prominent on his once childish face.

_Apex. _

She gently replaced the skinny hand by his side and stared at the Millenium Puzzle from around his neck.

_The Puzzle. _

The Puzzle.

She unlatched the chain from around his neck, holding the glistening pendant in her fingers.

The dream - no, the voyage was coming back to her, bit by bit.

"You have to hold the puzzle... from the apex down... to hold it by the apex... I remember. I remember!"

She remembers Yuugi's pledge to step into adulthood. And she makes a pledge of her own to help Atem regain his humanity. Yes, rather than an reluctant extension of their unfortunate existence, this migration would be the beginning of a new, beautiful, rich life for the both of them.

"I brought you your water, sweetie." The nurse's unannounced arrival startled Anzu.

"They will be beautiful."

"Yes..." The lady gave the girl an inquisitive look as she gulped down the contents of her tiny styrofoam cup.

"Thank you for the water. And... for letting me stay." She was overexcited. Happy. Genuinely hopeful, eager to taste the bright future ahead of her friends.

The nurse found the girl's behavior to be quite puzzling, but in her long career, she had seen worse. She had come to blame it on the nerves. It can't be easy taking the decision to halt the life support systems of a loved one, no matter what angle you look at it.

"Now you get a good night's worth of sleep." The nurse spoke loud an clear, not to let the machines around them cover her voice. Every patient of this was was comatose anyway. If she ever was loud enough to wake any one of them up, all the better!

"Thank you, ma'am." She stood up apologetically, holding unto the Puzzle with both her hands. "Thank you so much!"

The older lady, touched by the state of mind of the girl, lifted her hand hesitantly, then firmly patted the young woman on the shoulder as to comfort her.

"Yes, yes, take care of yourself. And sweet dreams."

Anzu walked away gingerly out of respect for the patients surrounding her, envying their irreversible slumber for a second. She couldn't afford any sleep, not until she solved the Puzzle again.

And when she would let herself fall asleep, then her future dreams would be very agitated, but most certainly very sweet.


End file.
